This project targets returning migrant youths for job training and completion of their high school education (nearly 50% of 15 year old Guatemalan are not in school.) Students receive room and board on the outskirts of Guatemala City and receive high school education for three hours a day and then intern at a local business for the rest of the day. Guatemala city has a strong hotel and restaurant market and the USAID report attached stressed the need for additional trained chefs and kitchen personnel to cater to the tastes of international guests.
The project includes training teachers, retrofitting the kitchen in the building, a computer lab with computers and furnishings for the students. Since the target jobs are hotel and restaurant work the kitchen and living areas will serve as training areas.
The local club and income from the internships will fund about $100,000 US to the project, Rotary will fund 56%. Further USAID identified 3 key areas Guatemala needs to improve in their educational field "(1) improving curriculum design and pedagogy,
(2) providing professional development opportunities for faculty and staff, and (3) enhancing labor market bridging services to help students find gainful employment after graduating." This grant addresses curriculum design and pedagogy and
bridging services to help students find gainful employment after graduating. through classroom and internship modules.
A 2018 survey by the Manpower Group shows that 39% of applicants lack required experience and 22% lack the necessary hard skills for requested employment.
This project mirrors a Rotary grant funded boarding school on the east coast of Guatemala that is accredited and has subsequently been funded by the Ministry of Education at ever increasing amounts for the last 13 years. 80% of the students at the other school graduate with a job and a high school diploma.
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